Ulugh Beg, Timur's grandson, was more interested in the stars than in conquest. In the 1420s he built an observatory here with a massive sextant — its curved trench, carved into the hillside, is the only part that survives. The attached museum explains how Ulugh Beg's star catalogue, completed in 1437, was the most accurate in the world until Tycho Brahe's work 150 years later. A short taxi ride north of the centre, easily combined with the Afrosiab Museum next door.
Ulugh Beg Observatory
Remains of a 15th-century observatory with giant sextant